Vaouo m chamber



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. PATTBN.

4 VACUUM CHAMBER.

No. 440,747. Patented N0v.-18, 1890.

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. ATTBN.

VA f CHAMBER.

' v No. 440,747. Patented Nov. 18, 1890.

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4Sheets--Sheet 3. J PATTBN VACUUM CHAMBER.

Patent-ed N0v.'18, 1890..-

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(No Model.) 4 Sheets--Sheet 4. J. .PATTEN. VACUUM CHAMBER.

No. 440,747. Patented Nov. 18, 1890.

' wpfiki v ai f 735,606 3 J OIIN PATTEN, OF NE? YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE J OIIN PATTEN MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

VACUUM-CHAMBER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 440,747, dated November 18, 1890.

Application filed June 21, 1890. Serial No. 356,177. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN PATTEN, of the city and State of New York, have invented a certain Improvement in Vacuuni-Chambers, of which the following is a specification.

This improvement relates to the construction of vacuum-chambers of large dimensions for use in connection with the concentration or other treatment of sugar or other liquids racuo.

The invention consists of a cylindrical chamber with conoida-l or spheroidal ends, the shell of which chamber is built of brick laid in cement, and is erected upon a foundation covered with an air-tight shield, and has its exterior surface covered with a sufficient number of coats of paint, glaze, or varnish to make it air-tight as against external atmospheric pressure when a vacuum is established within the chamber. lVithin the brick chamber is an interior vessel or chamber for containing the liquid which is to be operated upon. Said interior vessel or chamber may be made of wood or of metal, according to the nature of the liquid which it is to contain. The shell of the brick chamber is perforated for the admission of steam or other pipes as, for example, the pipes through which the fluid to be treated is supplied to and withdrawn from the apparatus-andalso for peekholes or windows, and for the exhaust-pipe,

.by means of which a vacuum is established within the structure.

The exhaust-passage is connected not only with the space within the lining, but also with any air-space which may exist either in the brick shell or between the inner surface of the brick shell and the exterior surface of the lining or interior chamber. It hence follows that the shell of the interior chamber, whether of wood or metal, is subjected to like pressure, both on the inside and on the outside, and therefore may be made of very thin materialas, for example, Very thin sheet metal-without danger of collapsing. Thus when the apparatus is to be used for concentrating sugar-liquor the interior lining may be made of thin sheetcopper. In other cases-as, for example,when the liquid to be treated consists in Whole or in part of sulphuric acid-thin sheet-lead may be employed for the lining.

By this invention it is practicable to construct at a comparatively small expense vacuum chambers far larger than any hitherto made.

The accompanying drawings, illustrating some of the forms in which the invention may be employed, are as follows:

Figure l is a central vertical section of an upright cylinder closed at the top and bottom and built of brick laid in cement, havingits exterior surface covered with a coating of paint, glaze, or varnish, symbolically represented by heavy black lines, and having its inner surface provided with a thin lining of sheet metalsuch as copper or 1eadsymbolically represented in section and of exaggerated thickness. Fig. 2 is a top view of a portion of the conical bottom of the chamber represented in Fig. 1, with the interior metallic lining broken away for the purpose of symbolically representing the'inverted conical brick construction. Fig. 0 is a vertical section taken through the plane indicated by the line 1: as on Fig. 2, illustrating the method of connecting the steam-eduction and the discharge pipes and the interior lining with the central bottom plate of the chamber when the lining and bottom plate are made of lead.

Fig. 4 is a front elevation; and Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken through the plane indicated by the line y g on Fig 4 of the portion of the wall of the brick chamber through which the steam-induction pipe passes, showing the gland-packing for the pipe and the concentrically-corrugated lead plate applied to the exterior of the wall around the aperture through which the pipe passes, for the purpose of keeping that part of the wall airtight in case the paint, glaze, or varnish in the immediate vicinity of the pipe should be melted from the heat therefrom. Fig. 6 is a vertical section of the lower portion of the chamber represented in Fig. 1, showing the manner of attaching the pipes when the lining and bottom plate are made of copper. Fig.

7 isacentral vertical section of a brick chamber without the interior metallic lining, and having a fiat bottom to afford a horizontal bearing for a large wooden tub, represented as resting thereon and as containing a liquid to be operated upon in vacuo.

The vacuum-chamber represented in' Fig. 1 is erected upon a substantial hollow base A of brick, interiorly arched, as shown, to enable it to support the supercumbent weight.

A flanged conical thimble A of cast-ironserves as the equivalent of a keystone for the arch A The base A is covered with a horizontal sheet of lead B, provided in the center with a perforation smallerin diameter than the diameter of the upper end of the thimble A. Another conical thimble of castiron 0 is provided at its flaring lower end with a horizontal flange C, which bears upon the portion of the lead sheet B immediately surrounding the aperture therein. A clamping-ring C secured by the vertical bolts C serves to clamp the lead sheet closely against the under side of the flange C.

At its u pper end the t-himble O is cylindrical and is provided with the flaring flange C The lower part of the cylindrical portion of the thimble O is provided with the internal horizontal flange O to the top of which the.

metallic plate D is secured by the bolts (1 d. Thevaccuum-chamber E is a cylinder of brick, the walls of which are of greater or less thickness according to the size of the structure. At the bottom the bricks of which the cylinder is composed are laid in the form of an inverted truncated cone E, built into the column of brick erected upon the top of the lead plate B, as symbolically represented in the drawings, the thimble 0 being the equivalent of the keystone of the inverted cone E.

At the top of the vertical wall of the vacuum-chamber E is an annular casting or frame F of metal, V-shaped in cross-section and having its horizontal web f bearing upon the top of the vertical wall of the vacuumchamber and secured thereto by the vertical bolts f, built into the upper portion of the wall, as illustrated in the drawings. The inclined web f of the frame F serves as a foundation for the lower part of the conical top G of the'vacuum-chamber, which at its upper extremity affords support for the brick flue G. The top of the flue G is covered by the metallic plate H, which is secured in position by the vertical bolts H, built into the wall of the flue, as shown, and which is centrally perforated to receive the end of the exhaustpipe I.

Window or peek-hole frames J J are built into the conoidal top of the vacuum-chamber and are provided with panes of glass j j, which admit light and allow observation of the interior of the chamber. It is immaterial whether or not the peek-hole frames are or are not cast integrally with the frame F.

Either mode of construction may be adopted,

as may be more convenient.

A lining K, of thin sheet metal, is applied to the interior of the chamber E and to the interior of the flue. This lining may be of sheet copper, lead, or any other suitable material. If made of lead, it will be desirable to provide it with the outwardly-projecting horizontal flanges or folds 7c, built into the brick wall of the structure, as symbolically represented in the drawings, for the purpose of more securely supporting the lining in position.

At the bottom the lining K is brazed or burned to the surface of the plate D. The plate H bears upon the top of the brick-work at a sufficient distance outside the upper end of the lining to permit the exhaustion of any air which may be present between the lining K and the inner surface of the brick wall or within the pores of the brick-work. The fluid to be treated is admitted into the vacuum-chamber through the supply-pipe L, which is inserted through the flanged tube 1, built into the conical top of the chamber. The exterior surface of the brick structure is covered with a coating P, composed of asuffi cient number of coats of paint, glaze, or varnish to make it air-tight. The fluid contents of the vacuum chamber are removed through the discharge-pipe M, the upper end of which is inserted through and is brazed or burned to the plate D, as symbolically shown in Fig. 3, when lead is employed as the lining for the plate D. When copper is so employed, the discharge-pipe M may be provided with a flange m and be secured to the plateDby the bolts m m, as illustrated in Fig. 6. The vertical wall of the chamber E is perforated to admit the counterbored and flanged tube N, through which is inserted the service-pipe O of the heating-coil O, the educt-ion-pipe O of which is carried through the bottom plate D and either brazed or burned thereto, as illustrated in Fig. 3, or inserted through the flanged sleeve a a, bolted to the plate D, as shown in Fig. 6. A tight joint is made between the service-pipe O and the flanged tube N by means of the gland-packing N, illustrated in detail in Figs.4t and 5. As the heat of the steam might melt the varnish in immediate proximity to the service-pipe, there is bolted to the flange N the annular concentrically-corrugated lead plate N the periph-- IOO IIO

ranged upon the conical bottom of the vacmun-chamber E.

The conoidal construction of the top and bottom of the vacuum-chamber is adopted for the purpose of giving the structure the necessary strength to resist external atmospheric pressure when a vacuum is established within the chamber E.

In the modification represented in Fig. 7, the vacuum-chamber Q is a cylindrical chamber of brick, having a hemispheroidal top Q and having at the bottom an inverted hemispheroidal arch Q built into the cylindrical column of brick erected upon the top of the horizontal sheet of lead R, covering the brick foundation R. Peek-holes q q are provided for admitting light and allowing the inspection of the interior of the chamber Q, and an aperture q is provided with a perforated cap (1 for the reception of the exhaust-pipe g Vtithin the chamber Q is a tub S for containing the 'liquid to be treated in cacao, which is supplied through the service-pipe s, inserted through the wall of the chamber, as shown. The tub is emptied through the discharge-pipe s.

The exterior surface of the brick structure shown in Fig. 3 is also covered with a sufficient number of coats of paint, glaze, or varnish to render it air-tight. In this case also the hemispheroidal constructionof the top of the chamber and theinverted hemispheroidal arch built into the lower portion of the brick column at the bottom give the chamber the necessary strength to resist external atmospheric pressure when a vacuum is established within it.

The object of employing the lead sheet B (represented in Fig. 1) and the similar sheet R (represented in Fig. 7) is to interpose an air-tight shield which will prevent the possibility of any air making its way upward through the lower portion of the brick structure into the vacuum-chamber. Lead is preferably employed as the material of which this sheet is composed, because of its cheapness, and also because it readily yields to compression and closely fits any inequalities in the surfaces between which it is interposed. It will of course be obvious that any other metal might be used instead of lead, and it will therefore be understood that the lead sheet is simply to be regarded as an air-tight shield which is interposed between the lower portion of the brick vacuum chamber and the foundation upon which the vacuum chamber is supported.

What is claimed as the invention is 1. A vacuum-chamber constructed, essentially, of a hollow cylinder closed at the top and bottom, built of brick laid in suitable cemcut, and having its walls exteriorly coated with paint, glaze, or varnish and perforated for the reception of an exhaust-pipe and for any other required pipes, a foundation therefor, and a continuous air-tight shield interposed between the vacuum-chamber and the foundation, as and for the purposes set forth.

2. A vacuum-chamber consisting of a hollow cylinder closed at the top and bottom, built of brick, laid in suitable cement, having its walls exteriorly coated with paint, glaze, or varnish, and having an interior lining of sheet metal, and aneXhaust-pipe communicating with the interior of the chamber and with the space between the said lining and the brick wall to which said lining is applied, as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In a Vacuum-chamber built of brick, substantially as set forth, the combination, as herein shown and described, of the conoidal brick bottom E, with the metallic thimbles A and C, and the interiorly-arched foundation A.

4. A vacuum-chamber having a vertical wall of masonry and a conoidal Wall of masonry forming the top of said vacuum-chamher, and having interposed between the vertical wall and the conoidal wall a metallic frame V-shaped in cross-section, and present ing two bearing-surfaces for the said walls which are respectively parallel with the top of the vertical wall and the lower edge of the conoidal wall.

5. The flanged tube N, inserted through the wall of the vacuum-chamber, in combination with the corrugated plate N applied to the exterior of a portion of the wall of the vacuum-chamber adjacent to the flange of the tube N, as and for the purposes set forth.

JOHN PATTEN. Vitnesses:

A. M. J ONES, J E. BURNS. 

